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Karl Fairburne
Karl Fairburne is the protagonist and main playable character in Sniper Elite, Sniper Elite V2 and Sniper Elite III. Raised in Berlin, Karl was the son of a German ambassador to America before the war broke out. He studied at Harvard University, shortly after America's entrance into World War II in December of 1941. One of the reasons he was chosen to be an OSS agent was from his high up family status in the American goverment; this was a common way of citizens being hired to join the OSS, coming from high up status. He was probably chosen for the mission due to his experience of the city and the German language. North African Campaign In June 1942, during the Battle of Gazala, Fairburne is sent to assassinate General Franz Vahlen and uncover his top-secret project. He helps British soldiers repel General Erwin Rommel's forces, but ultimately, the port of Tobruk is lost. Fairburne heads to the Gaberoune oasis in Libya to kill several officers and reveal Vahlen's whereabouts. He only finds a document revealing the name of Vahlen's project, Project Seuche (literally meaning plague). The Long Range Desert Group asks for Fairburne's assistance in destroying several Flak 88s in Halfaya Pass. Fairburne's only hope of finding Vahlen is by rescuing a British informant inside Fort Rifugio previously held by the British during Operation Compass. The man, Brauer,SHARES intelligence about officers meeting at the Siwa Oasis in Western Egypt. Fairburne, whose sniping has earned him the label Wüstengeist (Desert Ghost) by the Germans, sneaks into the town and finds out that the officers plan to betray Vahlen to Hitler by giving him the general's personal diary in Berlin. Fairburne kills the officer tasked as the courier and steals theBOOK, which details Vahlen's plans to conquer Europe when the Afrika Korps win in North Africa, with his base of operations somewhere in theKasserine Pass. Fairburne and Brauer infiltrate the base and discover from a secret movie reel that Project Seuche is a supertank codenamed Ratte. Tragically, Brauer is killed by a Tiger tank but Fairburne destroys it in revenge. He buries Brauer and takes a round from Brauer's gun. With the location of the Ratte production facility still unknown, Fairburne joins the LRDG in assaulting the German-controlled Pont du Fahs Airfield and finds a map leading to the facility, which is nestled inside the Mides canyon. He gets inside the complex and prepares satchel charges to collapse the base as well as destroy the Ratte prototype. To trigger the detonation, Fairburne puts an explosive on the Ratte's turret and drops a load of the supertank's massive shells on it. Vahlen is mortally injured trying to escape the hangar and Fairburne kills him before escaping the base. It is revealed that the intelligence Fairburne acquired on the Ratte enables the USAAF and the RAF to launch the Battle of the Ruhr. The effect of Operation Chastise on steel production forces the Germans to scrap work on the Ratte. Battle of Berlin Fairburne is inserted into Berlin in 1945, during the final days of World War II. as part Operation Paperclip and its predecessor Operation Overcast, the plan by the USA to recruit the scientists of Nazi Germany and to assassinate those trying to defect to the Soviet Union. Fairburne sent into Berlin to first assassinate German Major-General Hans von Eisenberg who was attempting to defect to the Soviets. Shortly after, he is given the mission to eliminate Doctor Gunther Kreidl, a Nazi scientist who is being led out of the city in a convoy. After laying an ambush, Fairburne escapes with the doctor's personal documents revealing further information about the V-2 rocket program including the location of other scientists. As the only American within the region, he is sent to the outskirts of the city to infiltrate a V-2 production facility in search of another scientist, Dr. Schwaiger. While the scientist is absent, Fairburne learns that he originally made plans to defect to the United States, before sabotaging and escaping the facility. US intelligence then sends him into Opernplatz where the Soviets are in full invading force. As the Soviets and Germans engage one another, Fairburne slips by and saves Schwaiger from being executed by Nazi officers after his plans to defect were discovered. However in the ensuing firefight, Schwaiger is mortally wounded and in his dying words states that "Wolff has a plan" and the unknown word "tabun". Following these events, Fairburne continues to track and eliminate the remaining scientists, assassinating Doctor Müller in his command tower during a series of bombing raids on the city. With no location of the V-2 launching site, Fairburne infiltrates and searches the Soviet HQ. There he finds that documents revealing that tabun is actually a nerve gas that is to be carried by the V-2 rockets. As a last act of revenge the remaining scientist Doctor Wolff intends to launch them at London. With only the information that location is somewhere outside Berlin, Fairburne goes to Wolff's offices within the city to find more information. However by the time he arrives the office has been already destroyed, yet Fairburne is able to find a ripped notebook and learns that Wolff is about to escape from an airfield. Fairburne retrieves a map detailing V-2 storage facilities and sets out to destroy the rockets before they can be launched. With only Wolff left, Fairburne goes back to the Brandenburg Gate, where he had assassinated von Eisenberg few days earlier. Fairburne climbs on top of the structure and, as Wolff is about to escape in a car, shoots and kills Wolff, causing the car to lose control and flip over. Fairburne remarks that World War II is over but the Cold War has just begun, in which he has acted as the first soldier. Personality Karl is very stoic, even in the face of a full enemy assault, helping him excel at being a sniper. He is very quiet, most of his dialogue being delivered by inner monologue. Karl is very dedicated to his missions and will eliminate anyone who stands in his way of completing his objective. However, he will disregard orders when he uncovers new information and change his objectives. Skills and Abilities Karl is an expert Marksman and sharpshooter, making him an excellent sniper. He is a master of stealth, espionage and geurilla warfare, laying traps and ambushes, allowing him to take on enemy forces single handed. Category:Characters